A Monster in my Bed
by WolfPunk
Summary: Kagome ran out of her apartment during a downpour to chase after her cat. When she found him, she found something more in the place he took shelter in.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there! **

**This story wanted to come out for a while. And I'm glad it did! **

**I don't own InuYasha. **

**Here we go! Give me reviews please!**

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**-Yes, it was a rainy day-**

The sky was dark, humidity was thick in the air, and every one of her neighbors were scrambling to get inside before the downpour started. Kagome watched the outside activity from her living room sliding glass door from her first floor apartment as her neighbors ran back and forth either bringing in groceries or their kids from the back seats of their mini vans.

If her cable wasn't out she wouldn't have to entertain herself like this.

With great luck on her part, she managed to get her archery practice out of the way this morning. On the way home the weather man made the announcement of an all night downpour on the radio for later that evening; with possible flash floods in areas no where near her.

Playing it safe, Kagome called her best friend Sango to share what she heard to warn her encase she hasn't heard the weather report yet. With an assurance from her friend that she'll be fine since her brother Kohaku and her boyfriend Miroku are staying over for the night. She then called her mother and walked her through what they would need encase of a power outage.

With the knowledge that her friends and family are prepared it put her mind at ease and she can enjoy her tea as she petted her fat cat Buyo without worry.

Kagome moved out of her families shrine soon after she got a full time job at a local bakery as one of the chefs. The neighbor kids will flock to her apartment door as soon as she got home fully knowing she would bring back leftovers and unclaimed deliveries. She quickly became the favorite amongst the parents and they will on occasion ask her to babysit for them. Kagome didn't mind, after all she's a generous and selfless person.

Lately though, the neighbors started to become on edge after a few deaths have happened in a near by forest not far from the apartment complex. The forest was a popular camping site for the kids in the complex she lived in as well as some of the locals. The forest has been like that for years until recently. About two months ago, disemboweled bodies were found in the morning littering the entrance of the forest. The bodies were so badly torn to shreds that hardly any of them could be identified by forensics. Some of the elder apartment residents blame the act on an old myth.

One said that someone must have disturbed the spirit that dwells in the forest and angered it. As expected, none of the younger residents aside from Kagome believed in this _'superstitious bullshit' _and, well, stupidly camped in the forest at night; in groups.

Growing up in a shrine with a very animated priest grandfather taught her that no folklore or myth should be denied. Not even when it is about a possibly dangerous spirit. The next morning the same thing happened again, shredded bodies littered the entrance of the forest. This time everyone knew the victims were the group of young adults that lived on the complex. Everyone became scared, angry, and quickly suspicious. A huge majority of Kagomes' neighbors left the complex fearing for their and their childrens' lives while some had no choice but to stay because they couldn't afford the move.

Kagome stayed out of stubbornness. This apartment is her first home damn it! And just like her elderly neighbors she refused to give up her home.

Thunder rumbled in the distance signalling the coming rain with rushing howling wind. Kagome opened her glass sliding door to see the the dark clouds rolling in. It looked like the sight of fast moving smoke. The wind whipped through her wavy hair causing some of it to cover her blue eyes as a crack of thunder loudly echoed the sky.

Spooking Kagomes' normally lazy fat cat to the point it ran past her legs and out into the open.

"BUYO!"

Kagome quickly put on some rain boots that went over her red pajama pants, threw on the closets sweater over white wife beater and ran after her cat. She managed to catch sight of Buyo running in the direction of the both the mail boxes and the forest.

_'Please, hide under the mail box shed.'_

But, like in a bad horror movie her beloved cat ran into the one forest that had police tape surrounding any entry way. No time to think how clique her situation was Buyo is now in serious danger. The police suspect a bear caused the attacks and advised everyone to stay away from the area. Bear, or no bear Kagome wasn't going to let her cat die in the woods. With the rain now pouring down Kagome ran into the rain after her cat.

Kagome knew her cat wouldn't be hiding on the camping grounds, when he hides he like to hide in corners or dark places he feels safe. Running passed the camp grounds Kagome ran further into the forest calling out for her cat. Now soaked to the marrow Kagome started to wheeze slightly as she continued her search. Kagome soon found herself at a large out of place tree leaning against an enormous rock like structure. The tree was covered in green moss but the bark was a pale brown, even when the rain drops touched the bark it retained its' color. The roots gave an illusion look as if the tree was crawling down from the giant rock instead of leaning against it and the leaves varied from pale brown to dark brown. Dead leaves that refused to fall from the branches.

Through the pounding rain a crystal clear meow can be heard.

"Buyo?"

Kagome ran to the other side of the tree and rock to find her cat sitting comfortably and dry at the mouth of a cave. Realizing, quickly but ignoring the fact the giant rock is a cave she carefully walked over to her cat.

"Buyo," she picked him up with her words in a whisper in an attempt to calm her fat cat, "I'm so glad you're safe." She unzipped her sweater jack and put Buyo inside to shield him from the rain.

She turned to leave the cave when she heard a low feral growl coming from behind her. Kagome froze in her place not daring to move another inch. The growling became louder and more threatening as it got closer to where she was standing, then, it stopped. Kagomes' instinct was screaming at her to not turn around but to run as fast as her legs can take her and Buyo out of the forest but her curiosity was telling her otherwise. She slowly turned her body to the side to not antagonize what ever was behind her, when her wet bang covered blue eyes made contact with the source of the noise her eyes couldn't help but widen in disbelief.

Crouching in front of her was a young man like creature with long grungy hair coated in dirt and mud, triangle mounds on the top of his head stood up at attention facing her for any sound she might give and long sharp dirty claws on both his hands and feet. She looked at all of the unusual features this guy had until she settled onto his face. Kagome was even more surprised to see the eye catching features his face has, despite his face covered in dirt she can some how see the attractive details of his face. And his eyes, the deepest crimson surrounding sky blue pupils and under his eyes rested jagged purple lines. She couldn't take her eyes away from this astonishing creature.

They continued to look at each other like that for a while until the strange creature sniffed the air. Kagome stayed still as he did this. He stopped abruptly and his eyes snapped back at her, she witnessed his pupils change from sky blue to a rich gold surrounded by crimson. He looked at her with the expression of a sudden realization that seemed to have calmed him. A low rumble exuded from his chest to his throat in a none threatening way but more of an aim to coax her to him; as if telling her she won't be harmed.

Kagome stayed where she was all the while shielding her cat thinking he's doing this to take Buyo from her.

When he saw she wouldn't come to him a slight whine of disappointment mixed with his low rumble can be heard as the triangular mounds moved downwards to his skull. The mounds perked back up, an idea came to thought. Kagome watched as he stood up from his crouching position revealing his lean muscular frame, as well as a very intimate anatomy part. She felt her face heat up as he slowly walked to her continuing to expel the low rumble from his chest to throat, she slightly stepped backwards making him give a more meaningful growl. She stopped in her movements and the low rumble came back immediately. He raised a clawed hand and laced his fingers with a thick wet strand of her hair. He twiddled the hair strand between his fingers; becoming fascinated with it. His other clawed hand came to her face and lightly caressed her cheek with his fingers. Never has this creature touched anything this soft. Kagome found herself entranced by the attention she is receiving. She hardly got attention from boys when she went to school, sure there was Hojo but he was more of a friend and nothing else. But this creature was stirring something inside her, a feeling she's not familiar with.

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!**_

The sudden loud thunder clap startled the creature as he gave a feral roar, making him scratch Kagomes' cheek and ripping the strand he was playing with out of her head. With a scream of pain Kagome ran from the cave and the strange creature, as it continued to give a feral roar that pierced through the still pounding rain.

How Kagome got to her apartment is a blurred memory, all she remembers is putting Buyo on the couch and taking a hot shower. Afterwards she curled up into a ball on her bed trying to determine if what she experienced was real or not; but the painful throb of her cheek is evidence of that. She looked outside of her bedroom window with the view of the forest, even if there is a tree partially blocking her view, she opened it letting in the sound of pounding rain. But all she can hear is the roar of the creature she encountered. Closing the window and locking it Kagome changed into new pajamas and dressed her injury. Kagome crawled under her beds' covers ready for sleep and with a final glance outside her tired mind and body hopped that will be the last she will see of the odd creature.

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	2. Chapter 2

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**-Blood of the Not so ****Innocent**-

As soon as Kagome woke up she felt the throbbing of her injury on her cheek. The scratches the creature gave her last night was superficial but for reasons unknown to her it's not healing like how it's supposed to. Kagome applied fresh medicine to her injured cheek and felt the throb of her scalp act up, she remembered the creature also tore out a good chunk of her hair. She wanted to put the whole incident behind her and treat it like a bad dream.

Kagome got dressed for archery practice when she heard a knock at her door.

"Coming!"

She ran to her door to find on the other side one of her elderly neighbors.

"Kagome, thank goodness you're here safe and sound. Last night during the storm I couldn't help notice ye run into the storm chasing after that cat of yours. Once I saw it run itself into the forest and you after it, concern for your well being swelled."

"I'm sorry to have you worry over me Kaede. But I'm perfectly fine now."

Kagome made it a point to know as many of her neighbors as possible, Kaede being one of them. She met the kind elderly woman the first day she moved into her unit, the two of them connected instantly when they shared how their lives were like growing up in temples. Kaede told her that in her temple she and her older sister Kikyō studied in demonology, exorcism, and sealing of evil spirits. Kagome would on occasion come over to read some of the old scrolls she used to study with her sister. She doesn't get any use out of it since she is not a priestess but she finds the information fascinating. Kaede metioned her sister died trying to seal a very powerful demon away, the end result was her losing her life. Kaede was about her brother Sōtas age when she died. To honor her sisters death Kaede continued with her studies and became a respectful priestess in her profession even to the days her of retirement.

Kaede brought an aged hand and brushed aside one of Kagomes' ebony locks that covered her injured cheek.

"And ye call this _'perfectly fine'_?"

"It's only a scratch Kaede, it's practically nothing."

"This _'scratch'_ is not _'nothing'_. Do well to stay out of that forest Kagome."

"You don't have to worry about that Kaede."

Kaede gave her a gentle smile before leaving to return to her own unit. Kagome grabbed her archery gear, pulled her ebony hair up into a ponytail, and fed Buyo before she left and locked her front door. She walked to her hand me down car she got from her mother before she moved and took a glance at the forests' entrance. After what happened last night in the forest Kagome doesn't plan on going back, but, she felt a part of her strangely drawn to it. As quite as the forest is being right now she can still hear the roar the creature gave on the night of the storm. In the opposite direction she heard the all to familiar thundering sound of motorcycles echoing down the street. One of the bikes' revved up, and Kagome knew that particular motorcyclist was trying to get her attention.

"Hey Kagome!" Some how that loud deep gruff voice managed to pierce over the sound of the bike.

Kagome unlocked her car preparing to leave when the owner of the bike drove up no too far from where she is.

"Kagome I know you can hear me."

"Kōga I don't have time for you right now. I have to leave for my archery lessons before I'm late."

Kagome knew Kōga several days after she moved in. What caught her eye about him at first was his long black hair that's always tied in a high ponytail and blue eyes, but she soon learned through Kaede that he's a leader of a biker gang named '_Yōrō clan'_. Kagome kept her distance from Kōga because of that but soon found herself bumping into him on more than one occasion. The first time was when he saw her struggling to bring her groceries into her apartment, the second was when she went to get her mail. Her talks with him always ends up with him flirting with her but every time she would brush him off politely and more than often say he's a good friend he doesn't seem to take the hint and continues to flatter her. But, lately his flirting became more persistent over time.

"So," he grabbed her hand and held it in his as he gave it a small message,"can't you be a little late Kagome? I want to take you somewhere where you can have some real _fun_."

Kagome yanked her hand out of his grasp and quickly entered her car locking all of the doors. Kōga banged on the top of her cars' roof practically demanding her to come out and give him her undivided attention all the while claiming he was joking. Kagome reserved her car out of its parking spot and drove away to her archery class. Kōgas' flirting started getting bolder and bolder like that with each polite rejection she gives him. She recalls two of his gang members, Ginta and Hakkaku, tell her that he sees it as a sport. Plus, he already declared her as _'his woman'_. Kagome was so mad at the time, she avoided talking to Kōga the whole month after he made that announcement of his. Now Kagome started to slowly see what her _'friend'_ is really like, she heard from one of his female gang members that he already has a fiance named Ayame waiting for him to claim her so that the wedding preparations can get started. All in all she's not happy with the male company she didn't ask to keep.

After shooting more than one bulls eye at her archery class Kagome decided to go visit Sango then her family before the evening got too dark.

Once she got to Sangos' she caught up with her sister like friend. Sango told her that the storm cut off the power in her complex and they had to stay like that for the whole night. She explained how difficult it was to make sure Miroku behaved himself in the dark with her brother Kohaku around. Sango went on to tell her she had to slap him a couple of times to keep his hands off; something she hasn't done since high school. Miroku later came in and blamed it on his hands saying they are cursed to be attracted to the curves of a woman and act mischievously in the dark despite whoever is present. This resulted in a whispered argument in the kitchen giving Kohaku the opportunity to say 'Hello' to Kagome. Sango and Mirokus' hushed argument in the kitchen clearly wasn't going to end with her there so she said good-bye to Kohaku and left.

Afterwards she drove to her families shrine to say 'Hello' to her family. After she moved out she made a promise to her mother to stop by whenever she can. Her mother told her after the storm came they didn't have much of any trouble, all that happened was some minor debris from the trees and the power flickering on and off. Kagome gave a sigh of relief knowing her family wasn't harmfully affected by the storm, she went outside to see her grandfather and little brother cleaning up the mess the storm left behind. Since their grandfathers back isn't what it used to be, her mother urged her teenage son to help. Her mother gave her a tray of snacks and tea to give to the hard working men as a reward for their good progress on the courtyard. Her grandfather told Kagome about what he heard about the deaths near her complex and urged her to be safe and not go near, let alone enter the forest at all. Much like what Kaede told her earlier. Kagome didn't bother to tell anyone about what happened when she did go into the forest to find her cat, she didn't want anyone to worry or make a big deal out of it.

After spending some time with her family Kagome noticed the sun was nearly set and decided it was time for her to go; before she got a package of homemade sweets from her mom.

By the time Kagome got to her complex it was starting to get dark; her families shrine is a good two and a half hour drive. As she parked her car she noticed Kōga was still out, now drinking who knows what with Ginta and Hakkaku; she also couldn't help notice their spot was littered with empty beer cans of various brands. Kagome had the idea of leaving the trio alone so that they can continue with their drunken stupor until Kōga finally noticed her presence.

"So you finally came back to me, huh Kagome?" He took another swig of his beer as he got up. "They always give into me when I give them attention, but not you Kagome. THAT'S why you're my woman."

She noticed the other two aren't as lucid as Kōga is being right now but lucid or not he is still in this delusion that she is his woman.

Ignoring him, she grabbed her archery equipment along with her mothers homemade sweets and proceeded to her apartment unit with Kōga trailing behind her. As she opened her door she smelt the stench of alcohol and knew who it was coming from. She felt his drunk stare on her as well as his hand moving from her back to her ass. She threw her archery gear inside her unit as well as the package of goodies and smacked his hand away. Forcing her to turn to him to right out tell him enough is enough.

"Kōga, I have put up with this behavior of yours long enough. I am NOT YOUR WOMAN."

"Yes you are." He reached to stroke her injured cheek only to have her smack it away again.

"No I'm not Kōga! I WAS your friend up until now, look, you're drunk head home and-"

Before she can get any more words out she felt herself being slammed into a wall and at the same time being choked. She struggled to open her eyes but managed to see a very angry Kōga staring back at her and felt her body lifted from the ground but still having her back attached to the wall. Going on instinct Kagome brought both of her hands to his hand that's choking her trying to pry it open; but with no such luck. As she struggled she felt a pair of lips slamming onto her own and the odor of alcohol ravaged her nose.

"You ARE MINE Kagome. No one else can ave you except for me!" Kōga tried to pry her lips open with his tongue but she kept her mouth steeled shut from his advances. His temper started to rise from her rejection, he retaliated by squeezing her neck even more which will cause bruising in the morning; if she'll ever get one again. Kagome continued to gasp for air as her attempt to pry his hand open was proving to be fruitless. She felt herself becoming dizzy a sure sign of going into unconsciousness.

"I've done this before Kagome, when a bitch I want doesn't cooperate I do this until I get what I want. Even if she's not awake to enjoy it."

She started to panic, she knows Kōga's not playing around. She did the one thing she should have done at the beginning and kicked him square in the groin. Kōga doubled over in pain making him let go of Kagome, as she fell to the floor coughing trying to catch her breath. With some air in her lungs she wasted no time to run away from him trying to distance herself from the violent drunk. Her legs didn't take her to her parked car, despite it being the sensible course of action to do since her keys are in her pocket, oh no, her legs took her to the one place she promised Kaede and her grandfather she will never enter again: the forest. From behind her she can hear Kōga tell his two cohorts to follow him after Kagome, although she got a good head start she needed to go a little further into the forest. She can hear them catching up to her, she ran in a random directions trying her best to confuse them hoping it will buy her some time to hide. In her fear induced state, she didn't realize her legs took her in the direction of the odd out of place tree and cave in the distance. Before she had the chance to change her direction away from the sight she wanted to avoid, she was tackled to the ground by Kōga causing her to be on her back in a dull pain as he straddled her hips to keep her pinned. Noticing her position Kagome fought back in any way she can think of but it proved useless as soon as Kōga punched her in the sides and slapped her across her injured cheek to subdue her. She gave out a groan in agony and felt something poking her against her inner thigh. Her eyes widened and started to fight back again right when Ginta and Hakkaku showed up looking completely plastered and sweaty.

"YOU," he pointed at Ginta,"GRAB HER LEGS!" Leaving Hakkaku to automatically grab her flailing arms.

Kagome gave a scream of protest as she struggled to free her captured limbs but that only encouraged the two to hold her down tighter and gave Kōga more of a boner. He started to tear at her top first all the while she screamed.

"STOP! NO! NO! NO! STOP IT!"

There was no use of saying 'Please stop' to them.

Once her sports bra was exposed to him Kōga went to her spandex shorts tearing at them in the process as well.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! GET OFF OF ME!"

With adrenaline coursing through her veins Kagome lifted herself high enough to head butt Kōga on the forehead making him stumble slightly. This action of defiance angered him, he back hand slapped her with such a force it caused her lip to cut and a small amount of blood trickled out. Kagome felt her body go numb due to violent assault causing her to close her eyes out of disorientation, but she can still feel her clothes tearing off of her body. The movement stopped when she felt the absence of pressure from her arms and heard noises, horrible noises in its place. She opened her eyes to see she is no longer pinned by Kōga or his two drunken followers, but to find only two of them standing away from her as they scanned the area for their missing partner. The three of them heard a blood curdling scream echo in the distance along with a sound that matches bones breaking and tearing flesh. Then, it grew quite.

"Ginta, go check it out."

Still not sober enough to reject to such a bad idea, another clique presents itself. The drunken idiot going TOWARDS the horrifying noises. Ginta didn't get a quarter of the way there when chunks of muscle and bones are thrown in his direction. Finally sobering up at the remains of what he assumes is his friend Hakkaku, Ginta bolts in the opposite direction giving small screams of horror.

"COWARD!"

Not soon after Kōga said that, he and Kagome heard the same sickening noises again only this time whacking sounds can be heard simultaneously with a shake of a tree. Limbs being torn as well as flesh and bones cracking in the distance gave a chilling feeling down Kagomes' spine. She noticed Kōga was to busy listening to what was happening to his cohort to pay attention to her so she slowly got up and walked backwards behind a tree. She took her now ruined sweat jacket from the ground and tied it around her hips to cover up her exposed checkered boy shorts underwear. The noises stopped as she took shelter. The eery silence fell onto the forest again only to be cut short by a thump. Kagome peeked and noticed Gintas' smashed in head somewhat rolling to Kōgas' feet. She couldn't tell if he was traumatized or stupid enough to stay in place.

"COME ON OUT!"

Stupidity wins it.

"YOU KILLED THOSE TWO PUSSIES?! HA! THEY WERE NOTHING COMPARED TO ME! WHY DON'T YOU TAKE ME ON?! OR, ARE YOU TOO SCARED?!"

No response.

"I THOUGHT SO! SINCE YOU'RE DONE I'M GOING BACK TO WHAT I WAS DOING UNTIL THIS BULLSHIT STARTED HAPPENING!"

This time a loud feral growl can be heard; oh no. Kagome looked on from her hiding spot and heard the leaves crunch under the sensation of someone running.

"YOU DON'T LIKE THAT?! I'M GONNA TAKE MY WOMANS' PUSSY RIGHT HERE ON YOUR TERRITORY WETHER YOU LIKE OR-"

Kōga crashed to the ground with a figure on top of him. At this time Kagome crouched down and covered her ears the best way she could. Despite her efforts she can still hear the noises, growling mixed with a feral snarl as flesh and muscle started to tear as the being yelled in agony from the torture. Tearing, pulling, sickening squishing sounds, and bashing against something hard with what sounded like a boulder made her stomach sick. The noises stopped with a final crack of a bone and all fell silent again. Kagome didn't want to peek from her hiding spot afraid she might be attacked next if the creature were to spot her. But her damn curiosity got the better of her again. She slowly stood up from her crouching position and carefully peeked from behind the tree. Her eyes widened at what she saw, the creature she encountered before stood over the remains of Kōgas' torn open and smashed body. The scene was too horrifying for her to even scream and against her better judgment she ran.

As soon as she did she heard the creature, demon, whatever the hell he is chase after her. She was tired both physically and mentally but her will made her strong enough to keep running to her apartment which she remembered, she left the door open! Her adrenaline kicked in again as soon as she saw her complex at close range. She heard the creature howl in sorrow for some reason once her legs got her to the concrete sidewalk of the apartments. She didn't stop running until she made it to the inside of her apartment and locked the front door as well as barracking it with a near by chair. Exhausted, she fell to the floor of her living room and heard Buyo give a lazy meow before falling back to sleep on the kitchen counter top.

That's the best sound in the world right now.

She sat there catching her breath and finally willed her legs to walk her to the kitchen for a glass of water. Before she even made it to the kitchen she heard her bedroom window breaking followed by a low growl and snarl. On instinct she grabbed Buyo and made a mad dash to the bathroom down the hall from her bedroom. As soon as she got to the hallway she saw the creature or demon guy standing in the doorway to her bedroom naked and covered in blood. Kagome stayed perfectly still as the creature looked her over assessing the damage done by Kōga all the while giving a low snarl. When he was done his eyes turned from blue to gold surrounded by crimson once he saw her face and that low growl from his chest and throat started up again like from their first encounter. Kagome didn't want to go anywhere near this creature, afraid he might kill her but she needed to get to the sanctity of the bathroom. She slowly walked towards the creature and this action seemed to please him, his low growl changed into a purr of some sorts. She inched closer and closer to him but quickly changed direction and locked her and Buyo in the bathroom.

The creature gave a growl of disapproval mixed with a whine.

Kagome locked and barred the door with her body. The creature slammed his body against the door causing it to crack and making Kagome shriek in fear. The action stopped as scratching, followed by whining can be heard from the other side making it clear the creature wants in. Kagome joined her cat in the tub and huddled herself into a ball.

"GO AWAY!"

The scratching stopped but the whining and whimpering can still be heard as she saw his bloodied fingers try to reach for her from the bottom of the door.

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	3. Chapter 3

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**-There's a Problem-**

Her body felt cramped, heavy, and she has a splitting headache. Kagome woke up slightly confused as to why she's in her bathtub curled up with her cat at her side sleeping soundly. She gently rose her sore body to get a better look of her surroundings, just to find she's in the dark. With a groan she got out of the tub and slowly walked to the light switch to turn it on, when she did she slid on something slippery and caught herself on the bathroom counter. She quickly looked down and felt herself turn cold. She slipped on a small patch of blood. The memories from last night started to flood back and quickly remembered who's blood she just slipped on.

"Oh my God."

She turned to go back to the safety of her bathtub when something grabbed her ankle forcing her to fall to the floor. Kagome braced her fall with her hands preventing her to face plant on the ground and looked at her captured ankle; she felt her blood leave her face.

A bloodied clawed hand wrapped securely around her ankle.

She knows the owner of this hand; and he's awake. She felt the sensation of wanting to panic surface and it started to make itself even more justified when she noticed a hole in the bathroom door the hand is coming out from. Kagome started to try and scramble her ankle out of the clawed hands grip but she only felt herself being pulled back towards the door with every attempt she made. She heard a low growl on the other end of the door urging her to not try that again.

Kagome looked around her bathroom to find something, anything that can help her out of this situation. In her search her eyes looked up at the counter to find her cellphone resting at the edge.

_'For once, I'm glad I left my phone in the bathroom.'_

Kagome knew the creature wouldn't allow her to move again or he'll just pull her back to the door. She looked around again and noticed a wadded pair of socks she left the first night she encountered the creature. She stretched her arm over to the dirty socks in a slow motion as to not alarm her frightening captor. She finally got a hold of the dirty wad and threw it at her phone, successfully knocking the cell phone off the counter and onto a near bathroom rug; cushioning the phone and muffling the sound of impact.

Wasting no time Kagome called the one person she can think of that can help.

_'Hello?'_

"Kaede," Kagome made her voice as low as possible so the creature can't hear her, "it's Kagome."

_'Kagome? Why are ye calling so early child?'_

"I need your help Kaede. Kōga tried to rape me last night and I ran to the forest-"

_'Kōga tried to do what?!'_

"Rape, I was almost raped by him when he and his friends were drunk."

_'Where is he know Kagome?'_

She took a deep sigh.

"They're dead Kaede. Kōga, Ginta, Hakkaku; they're all dead."

_'Dead? Kagome, child, what happened that night?'_

"When he tried to rape me, I ran away from him, and I went...into the forest."

_'And they were foolish enough to follow you. It's no surprise.' _

Kagome felt the creatures hand lax his grip as he starts to gently rub her ankle and part of her calf and heel. Taken by surprise Kagome gave a small yelp, it encouraged the creature to continue with his actions but it alarmed Kaede who's still on the line.

_'Kagome? What's wrong child?'_

"Kaede, I didn't tell you but on the night of the thunderstorm when I went after Buyo I ran into this creature, guy thing. I heard him kill Kōga and his group and he followed me home!"

_'What?!'_

Kagome's fear got the better of her and started to cry.

"Kaede, I'm locked in my bathroom, he has me by the ankle on the floor, and I'm so scared." Forgetting her hushed voice she let out a low sob and in a reaction to her small cry the creature from behind the door whined. She gave a small gasp as his hand began to message her leg in a soothing motion; it's like as if he senses her fear and is trying to calm her down.

_'Kagome,' _her attention left the creatures actions and back to her neighbor, _'stay calm Kagome. That's the best thing ye can do right now. I will be there soon.'_

Before the call ended Kagome told her the sliding glass doors are unlocked and explained there's a chair barricading the locked front door. With Kaede on her way all Kagome can do is stay on the floor and wait. The creature continued to give her leg a message adamantly trying to make her fear of him subside. She looked over at the bathtub to see Buyo calmly stretching out on the rim.

_'Glad you're comfortable Buyo.'_

"Ah."

She looked over her shoulder and saw the creatures hands' thumb gently brush the muscle line of her Achilles tendon while the rest of his fingers gently applied to her shin. Kagome watched the bloodied hand give her the message leaving traces of dry blood on her skin with every stroke of his fingers. His act of gentleness, his low purr mixed with a rumble she recognizes, and keeping her close to the door within hands reach she didn't realize it before but this creature is trying these new tactics to render her fear of him as nothing more but an illusion. Then something dawned on her about last night, he could have killed her with Kōga and the others and he could have done it the night they met. And here he is trying to make her less afraid of him.

She continued to watch his hand out of fascination and confusion.

"Why are you doing this?"

Then hand stopped for a second and started up again only this time the message felt different; more sensual this time.

She the heard the sound of her sliding glass doors open.

"Kagome?"

It's Kaede! The creatures' hand stopped it's ministrations on her leg and gave a menacing growl towards the intruder.

"KAEDE!"

The creature withdrew his hand from her ankle giving Kagome a peep hole to look through. The snarl the creature gave is low and dangerous sounding. Kagome feared for her elderly neighbors safety and struggled to get to her feet in a fast pace; she only ended up tripping over her own feet. Finally getting to her feet she heard the creature leave the bathroom door and went to the living room where she suspects Kaede is in right now.

She heard more snarling from the creature and along with what sounds like an incantation hymn. Kagome ignored her aching muscles and bolted out of the bathroom door and went straight to the living room to protect her neighbor. She was expecting Kaede to be on the ground crawling away from the creature trying to save her life but what she witnessed instead didn't surprise her but it did catch her off guard. The creature, still naked and covered in dry blood mixed with dirt from head to toe, is struggling inside of a binding circle. He stood uncomfortably in the purified ring all the while snarling and fighting to get out. When his eyes landed on Kagome his fight became more persistent and wild.

Kagome side stepped from where the creature stood and went straight to Kaedes' side. Kaede performed a few hand signs with her incantations and a bright light formed around the creatures neck. Kagome looked on and saw the lights morphed into beads, when the beads appeared the binding circle disappeared. The creature stood in place looking frustrated at the older woman.

"Kaede?"

"A basic binding spell my child. Those beads around his neck will ensure he is rightfully disciplined when it's needed."

Kagome continued to stare at the creature staring back at her with now calmer golden crimson layered eyes. Which brings an obvious question.

"Why is he staring at me?"

Kaede casually walked over to the creature and took a good long stare at him and looked over his appearance. The creature surprisingly stood perfectly still and allowed the older woman to look over his form. Kagome didn't know what to make of this situation it's the most bizarre moment she has ever experienced in her life. As for Kaede, a moment like this must take her back to the days of her youth. Without turning around from the creature Kaede gave her assessment.

"He's a hanyou." the tone in Kaedes' voice was that of astonishment.

"A what?"

"A half demon, half human hybrid. I have studied about them and heard tales about them as well with my sister, but never have I come across one."

Kagome started to fidget in her spot feeling uncomfortable from the stare this hanyo is giving her.

"Now the next step is to figure out what his other half of his species is."

Kaede brought her aged hands to the top of his head and rubbed some crusted dirt off of the triangular mounds. When some of the dirt crumbled off the mounds twitched slightly.

Kagome suddenly had the urge to touch them.

"He's not just any hanyou, he's half inuyokai. He comes a very powerful linage my child."

"But why did he follow me here Kaede? And why does he keep staring at me?"

The older woman finally turned around, "My child I would stare at ye too, thou are quite the sight."

She moved away from the now titled inu-hanyou and looked over Kagomes' injuries. Bruises formed over the areas where Kōga struck her as well as a bruise in a form of a grip on her neck. She removed the bandage from her cheek revealing three shallow scratch marks that refuse to heal and heard a whine come from the hanyou. Kaede looked at Kagome with a confused look.

"During the thunderstorm he reacted to the thunder and scratched me by accident."

"A sign of guilt then. What else happened on that night Kagome?"

"When I grabbed Buyo at his cave, he sniffed the air for a little while then he gave me this stare as if something was made clear to him."

"Then it all makes sense."

"Kaede?"

The elder woman grabbed the inu-hanyou by the arm and led him to the bathroom just as Buyo came trotting out. Kaede ran the water from the bathtub and closed the door behind her to join Kagome back in the living room. Keade told her she gave him a towel and taught him what he needed to do with it as well on how to drain the bathtub. She motioned Kagome to take a seat on her couch as she prepared to educate the young woman what it is exactly she has to deal with.

"Inuyokai, Kagome, are a very powerful breed as I said before. They are also known to be very loyal to their comrades, fearless, prideful, clever, and extremely loyal to their mates. For the inuyokai finding a mate is a lot like finding a missing puzzle piece, they find their mate by the scent they give off and they pursue their mate; regardless of what gender or species he or she is."

Kagomes' eyes widened at this. Afraid that she knows exactly where Kaede is going with this conversation.

"How old are ye Kagome?"

"Twenty-two."

"And ye are still _'pure'_ I take it?"

"Uh...yeah."

"There is no doubt he knows it as well. His senses are twice that of a regular human such as his sense of smell. When he sniffed the air surrounding ye back at his dwelling he can pick up if ye have another male or females scent on or in ye, if ye have such a scent present at the time he will still pursue and make an effort to get rid of the smell. I have read they can also smell ones' age and determine if ye are ready for courtship."

The water can be heard draining from the bathroom a clear sign that their conversation needs to end.

"Kaede, why are you telling me, about how they find and pursue mates?"

Kaede gave a deep sigh right when the inu-hanyo came back into the room, this time with a red towel draped around his waist; much to her relief and surprise.

Kagome looked over to where he stood and found herself unable to look away. With all of the dirt and dried blood washed away Kagome can see how muscular he really is with his lean form, his hair is a long white color and since it's still damp it clung to his body, his face; although young has a mature look to it and the jagged purple streaks only enhance it, the triangular mounds on the top of his head swiveled and twitched here and there making it obvious as to what his ears are, and his eyes remained golden and trained onto Kagome.

"He believes he has found his."

He gave off a purr mixed with a growl to assure what she said is true.

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	4. Chapter 4

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**-An Uncomfortable Situation- **

Confused. Really confused. These are the only words Kagome can describe how she mentally feels about the position she is in right now. Later during that night her body just went onto auto pilot while her mind was miles away. She remembers her feet leading her back to the bathroom and heard Kaedes' voice telling the inu-hanyo to not follow her and his response was an irritated growl. She recalls the hot shower she took, getting out, going to the linen closet and pulling out a blanket and extra pillow for the inu-hanyo and setting up her couch as a make shift bed for him to sleep on. After that, she simply went to her room to change into fresh pajamas' for some well deserved sleep; she didn't even bother to try and pick up the shattered shards of her window. Her body couldn't take this kind of stress. She's used to the stress of trying to fill in an order at her job at the bakery but this, this is too much for her to bare.

Growing up she always knew demons, evil spirits, and poltergeists existed but she never really encountered any of them when she was small. Well, not unless you count the funny shaped ones that liked to stick around her families temple but they didn't cause any harm and over the years when she got older she stopped seeing them all together. A part of her can slightly sense them, but that would be about it, a fleeting feeling nothing more. Now, NOW, she has a naked inu-hanyo sleeping in her living room, and the only barrier she has to keep him out of her room is her retired priestess of a neighbor; who managed to thankfully retain her skills over the years. If Kaede wasn't here in her apartment Kagome wouldn't have been able to get any decent amount of sleep more than likely she would have ran away from her own damn apartment just to get away from it all. But she somehow knew that wouldn't work. The inu-hanyo has her scent, he would've been able to track her down in mere minutes.

And whats all this about her being his _'mate'_? It's bad enough that Kōga called her _'his woman' _when he was still alive but now she has to deal with this nonsense all over again. But now it's more serious! It's a inu-hanyo claiming her to be his through mere scent and he didn't have to say a damn thing to confirm that!

Kagome tossed and turned in her bed giving herself a headache from all of these troubling thoughts going through her mind. No matter how many times she went over the state she's in there was no straight forward answer on how to properly deal with it all. She moaned in her struggle to find sleep, her physical injuries weren't helping her any more than her mental turmoil. She moaned in pain again, this time from the bruises on her sides. As she continued to struggle to get settled in a position that won't cause her pain her bedroom door creaked open and she heard footsteps lead up to the side of the bed she happened to be on. She stopped her wild movements long enough to feel a few fingers gently brush away strands of her hair that covered her face.

_'It must be Kaede.'_

Kagome held still allowing her neighbor to calm her down the best way she could. The hand continued to stroke her hair soothingly and brush her bangs to the other side of her forehead. The gentle ministrations Kaede was giving her helped to calm down her thoughts and eventually cause them to dissipate. It's odd she never thought her kind neighbors touch can calm her down this quickly or even sooth her; she also felt safe at her touch. Kagome smiled at her neighbor giving her a silent thank you before turning onto her other undamaged side. Just as she was about to drift back to sleep she felt a tongue slowly trace one of the scratches the inu-hanyo gave her.

Startled, Kagome quickly woke up and had her back acquittance itself with her bedroom wall. The very first thing she sees when she woke up is the inu-hanyo sitting on the edge of her bed and once again, he's naked.

"What are you doing in here? Where's Kaede?"

The hanyo slightly tilted his head as his ears twitched perked upwards at the sound of her voice. Kagome started to distance herself from the hanyo by trying to fuse herself into the wall. She heard a light growl come from the hanyo as she did this she stopped for a few seconds until he started to crawl towards her from across the bed; making her try the fusing thing again. As he inched closer to her she looked around her room to find anything to block him from getting any closer, she noticed her pillow and threw it in his direction only to see him dodge it.

_'Of course.'_

Kagome had no where to run; he had her cornered, she had nothing to defend herself with; her arrows are in the hall closet. She noticed a shadow blocking the light from the morning sun and found she is now face to face with the hanyo; forcing his white hair to become a curtian between them. As he stared at her she heard him give off the low rumble she heard from before and continue to stare back at him wondering what he will do. She watched as his hand rose to meet her face but she ducked down avoiding his hand but catching a glimpse of his intimate area; and what a long and large area it is. She felt her face heat up from embarrassment and turned her face away from _'it'_. She felt his hand cup her bruised cheek in a gentle but firm hold as his other hand brushed away her ebony hair and began licking the scratched injured cheek.

"Sto-"

She brought her hands up to his chest and tried to push him away but the rumble he was making in his chest and throat along with the licking he was doing on her cheek felt, right to her for some reason. The bed creaked as he came closer making the rumbling more audible for her to hear, his tongue continued on with licking her wounded cheek as his hand cradling her bruised cheek moved, wrapping itself around her waist bringing her even closer to his body. Kagome is so lost in the sensation of what she's feeling, something warm spread itself through out her body as the hanyo brought her closer. She felt protected in the arms of this hanyo, a part of her is still scared of him but that side has been muted out by the sensation of attention she is receiving from him. The hanyo stopped licking her cheek and whipped away his saliva from her cheek. Kagome opened her eyes and saw the satisfied gleam in his eyes, admiring the work he has done. He wasted no time on doing the same action on the other cheek.

"Oooh."

His ears perked at the pleasurable moan she gave and gave a growl mixed with a purr in approval. As he continued Kagomes' hands traveled up from his chest to his shoulders. Once done with her other cheek he moved away from her face and lowered himself to the sides of her waist. Kagome watched through her hazy vision as he lifted her shirt slightly exposing the bruised flesh and felt the hand once placed there move to her upper back, he brought his lips to the bruises and started giving light kisses onto the abused flesh. The movement of his lips caused her muscles to twitch and ripple at the attention they are getting. She felt his clawed fingers lightly brush under one of her breast causing a sigh to leave her lips. With his tongue dipping into her naval ending his exploration there he traveled back up to her face. He stared into her haze filled eyes and felt her breaths come out in shallow pants from her blush filled face. He gave a purr in approval to her reaction to the attention he's giving her. He re-wrapped his arm around her waist and brought his lips to her bruised neck. He gave her neck open mouthed kisses on her abused flesh making her give more moans and sighs. One of her hands tangled in his hair bringing him closer to her neck while the other clings to his back.

"Ah! Ha."

She has never felt this incredible! And his only kissing the areas that are wounded by Kōga and just holding her. The purr he's exuding from his chest and throat only increased the pleasure she's feeling. She never sought the attention from boys, when she got Hojos' attention she didn't see it as a romantic link. But this, what this hanyo is giving her is something she would never thought was a possibility to feel. She felt herself grow in need of more of his attention, she NEEDED more of it; more of him.

_'What's happening to me?'_

She felt him stop and lift his face from her neck. Her hand slid from his white locks and hang loosely on his shoulder, he then came face to face with her. The purr low but audible took on a different tone; as well as his face took on a different expression. In his golden crimsoned layered eyes she can see the look of passion, lust, and something else she couldn't put her finger on. Kagome watched as he brought his face closer to hers, their lips only inches away from each other until.

"Kagome, child."

Kaede came through the front door carrying a box of scrolls with her. This can be only possible if she found the cheesy _'extra key under the door matt'_ maneuver.

Snapping out of her daze and realizing the position she and the hanyo are in she tried to disentangle herself from him. He growled at her actions and only held her closer him.

"Kagome? Are ye still in bed?"

She started to panic, Kaede can be heard walking to her bedroom; and the bedroom door is still open! She gathered up some courage and did the only thing she can think of; she started to rub his ears. She got what she wanted and caught the hanyo off guard but what she didn't expect is to hear him purr, she also didn't expect to feel a certain something poke at her inner thigh. She felt his arms lax around her waist as he gave into more of her touch, she continued to rub the furry appendages making him let his arms fall to his sides. She let go of his ears, jumped off her bed, and ran towards the open doorway closing the door behind her.

She fixed herself up just as Kaede came to greet her.

"Morning Kaede."

"Don't ye mean _'Good' _morning?"

Kaede gave her a knowing smile as she walked to the kitchen.

"He came into my room this morning! Nothing happened!"

She heard Kaede chuckle from the kitchen.

Kagome joined her neighbor at her kitchen bar and offered her some morning tea.

"Kaede, when did you leave yesterday?"

"When ye went to bed, I told Inuyasha-"

"Wait," she chocked on some of her tea, "his name is what?"

"Oh yes, I looked into the scrolls and came across one about the Inuyokai," she put the box in front of both of them and opened it to reveal an old scroll. When Kaede unraveled it, it showed pictures of a large dog floating in the sky over a beautiful woman holding a baby in her arms and across from them is another beautiful woman standing next to an older looking boy; just as beautiful as her. "the dog like beast floating above the woman and baby is Inu no Taisho the leader of the Inuyokai and enemy of the panther demons. The woman underneath him is Izayoi, daughter of a wealthy lord whom fell on hard times."

"Kaede the child in her arms is that-"

"Yes, that is our hanyo friend. He was born amongst poverty, and with his father long dead his mother became his only companion in the village they lived in. In those days my child hanyos' are considered to be ill omens. Since they posses a demon side along with a human heart it somehow makes them stronger than most demons."

Kagome laid down her tea and gingerly took the scroll from Kaedes' hands and looked over the picture of the woman and baby.

"How did Inu no Taisho and Izayoi meet?"

"That's the one thing I don't understand, there are no records telling how the two have met. But from what I can tell ye is she, Izayoi, was his true mate." She raised her hand and pointed to the other woman. "This dog demoness was his first _'mate'_ she did not posses the scent of his intended but as you can see he mated with her and bore a son to keep the species of the Inuyokai strong. The sons' name is Sesshōmaru."

"How did...Inuyasha, get his name?"

As if on cue, he opened the bedroom door and joined the two woman in the kitchen. Kagome noticed he's still naked and what made it worse he stood right next to Kaede.

"Uhh..." his ears perked at her voice.

"I-Inuyasha," his eyes widened at hearing his name escape her lips, "umm, can you put on that red towel Kaede showed you how to use." He slowly nodded and made his way to the bathroom.

Kaede turned to the young woman with a smile.

"Ye learn quickly my child."

A slight blush came and left her face.

"Now then, Inuyasha was named by his father before he died. When he was still young he later lost his mother and had to defend himself."

"How, how did you now that?"

"It's recorded that Inu no Taisho fell in battle and a great illness claimed many others. Inuyashas' mother was amongst one of the many."

Inuyasha walked back to the kitchen with a towel wrapped securely around his waist. Instead of going to Kaedes' side he went to Kagomes'.

"I can see he took care or thous wounds and bruises. Inuyokais' bodies can heal in a short amount of time but they can heal their mates injuries with their saliva."

"Uhh..how?"

"I'm not sure dear child. It's simply a mate matter."

Kagome felt Inuyasha play with her ebony hair and watched him twiddle it between his fingers; much like what he did before.

"Kaede how old is he?"

"Hmmm...I suspect he was sealed away at a very young age for his species, possible at the age of two-hundred three. Even though he's a hanyo Kagome his demon blood slows down his aging at a staggering rate. Which means at that age he was seventeen in human years, and it's been well over five-hundred years for him."

"So, he's seven-hundred three years old?"

"That's correct which means he is older than ye, not only in demon years but in human years as well. I'd say he's roughly twenty-five in human years."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha as he continued to play with her hair, she remembers seeing his face as young but somehow mature. His face does show the wear of age, even if he was sealed for five-hundred years.

"Who do you think sealed him Kaede?"

"I don't know child. Only he can tell us what truly happened, but as you can well imagine being sealed for so long might have rendered him the functions of his vocal cords."

"But he growls and purrs all the time"

"It's not the same as speech child. It's clear he's not unintelligent but ye must not let him react on instinct as much."

"Wait, I thought you were going to help me."

"I am helping ye, but there is so much I can do. Also, the binding spell I performed binds him to this apartment complex. Which means, he cannot leave unless ye are with him but it does mean he can go to his cave whenever he chooses."

Kagome heard the tell tale sound of a towel dropping to the floor and did not dare to look. Kaede told her she has clothes he can wear and keep back at her unit. She left leaving Inuyasha and Kagome in the kitchen. Kagome looked back down at the scroll absorbing every piece of information Kaede just told her. She can't help but feel bad for Inuyasha, never knowing who your father was, losing your mother to an illness, and being all alone with no one to turn to. She looked down at the other figures and thought why his brother didn't try to find him after Izayoi died? Weren't Inuyoki supposed to be loyal? Kaede soon came back with a bag filled with clothes Inuyasha can wear around the apratment. He gave a low growl in protest of wearing such things but when Kagome pleaded to him he took the bag and left for the bedroom to figure out how to put on the strange garments. Kagome knew a kimono would better fit his tastes and make him feel more comfortable but he needed to blend in as much as he can with out bringing too much attention to himself.

The way he simply agreed to Kagomes' plea bothered her for some reason. To her, Inuyasha looked like a guy who lives to fight be it with fists or with words. So why did he give in so easily? Also, Inuyasha had a big opening last night.

"Kaede, when you left last night did you see Inuyasha sleep on the couch?"

"Yes child, why do ye ask?"

"This may sound horrible but I wonder why he didn't...force me to become his mate."

"Kagome, for demons such as the Inuyokai forcing your intended is not only a crime in their set of laws but to hurt the other half of thy self is no different than committing suicide in their eyes."

"But Inu no Taisho-"

"Inuyashas' father, from what I read, had no choice but to lay down with that dog demoness. For when he found Izayoi she was still young and the dog demoness was promised to him through his father. He bide his time until he felt Izayoi was ready for courtship."

"So, Inuyasha-"

Kagome saw Inuyasha re-enter the kitchen wearing old baggy blue denim jeans, a red shirt, and a black bandana on his head.

"Exactly my child. He wants ye to be willing to become his mate."

Kagome watched as Inuyasha come to her side yet again to twiddle with her hair again. She couldn't help remember what happened earlier in her bedroom, when she looked into his eyes she saw so many emotions. She remembered how it felt to be held in his arms and to feel safe, how his lightest of touch can send her shivers through her body, and when he kissed her her mind will go all foggy. She reveled every minute of attention he was giving her, but at the same time she's scared as to what can happen afterwards.

He wants her willingness to become his but she noticed in his eyes there is something so much more that he wants from her; and it's her call if she'll give it.

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	5. Chapter 5

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**-The Adjustment-**

Kagome spent the rest of that morning reading the scroll Kaede gave her. Beyond from what Kaede had already told her, the scroll didn't contain anymore information she hoped it would have. She wanted to know more about where Inuyasha came from, how he survived after his mother died, why his only half brother didn't come to his aid, and who sealed him away and why. She wanted to know all that and more but she needed to get to work on that day, Kaede offered to stay and watch him while she's at work. But, Inuyasha wasn't to happy on the idea of her leaving and not being able to go with her. Before she could leave for work Kagome made a promise to Inuyasha that she won't leave the apartment for the rest of the night; just to put his mind at ease. When she came back she found him playing with Buyo as Kaede watched the news. She felt like a mother returning to her child after a long day at the office.

Further on into that day Kagome can tell that Inuyasha knows she's still nervous being around him; and this is not something he wants from her. To his kind, an intended isn't supposed to be afraid or nervous towards the one that's courting them. So, he did the only thing he could think of to try and remedy the problem: by simply giving her space. He can watch her from distance and still feel that he's right there next to her doing her ministrations; but to Kagome it felt that he was monitoring her every move. When it was time for bed she was surprised to see he stayed on the couch, she expected him to try and follow her to her room refusing to leave and insist through his actions to stay in her room with her. But, no such thing happened. Inuyasha knows that he has scared her enough already, on the night of their first encounter to the second night where he killed the ones responsible for hurting her and trying to taint her, and later on into that morning when he had her trapped in the bathroom. He doesn't want to further encourage this fear she has towards him, the last person he wants to fear him is his intended.

Leading up to this morning, Kagome woke up to the annoying beeping of her alarm clock, turning it off she stretched to wake up her sleeping limbs. She tried to open her door so that she can walk to the kitchen and get breakfast started but something was blocking her from exiting her room. She used her side to push the door open only to have it swing open and fall into very familiar arms.

"Ah! Oh," looking up she noticed Inuyasha holding her in place; securing her by having his arms wrapped around her waist. "uh, good morning Inuyasha." She felt the low rumble start in his chest as a response to her greeting and she also felt, and heard, the fur and meow of her fat cat brushing past her leg from the corner of her door.

_'I seriously need to get that cat on a diet.'_

Kagome almost forgot she was in Inuyashas' arms if he hadn't removed her from his hold. Even though Inuyasha just started to live in her apartment she can feel herself becoming more relaxed around him, apart of her wants to get closer to him and this part somehow knows that he won't purposely hurt her; but then there's another side telling her to keep a distance from him. She'll admit, she is nervous around him but not because of what he is and what he can do, she's just not used to having a guy live with her. A rather inferior anxiety but, that how she feels.

She entered into the kitchen and started making breakfast. As she cooked Kagome will look up from the stove to see Inuyasha sitting on the couch and staring at the scroll Kaede gave her yesterday. His expression, though calm, held sadness as well. She finished her cooking and brought him a hot plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and buttered toast; something simple to start with. She quickly looked down at the scroll and realized he was staring at the image of his mother. Kagome can sympathies with her hanyo companion, she knows what it's like to lose a loved one.

"Inuyasha," he stopped in mid-bite of his toast and gave her his attention; ears perked at the ready, "I'm sorry about your mom. I-"

He continued to watch her as she shifted to get into a more comfortable.

"I know what it's like to lose someone you love. I lost my father in an accident when I was very young and my brother was only a baby so he doesn't know anything about papa."

She heard her own stomach growl from lack of food and got up to get her own plate but continued to talk.

"Mama had to raise us on her own, if it weren't for grandfather, my fathers' father, we would be out on the streets instead of being raised in my fahters' family temple."

She rejoined him on the couch with her own food.

"Mama missed my papa terribly, but she told me 'I will miss having him with me but I will cherish the memories we made.' So, even though he's gone, I cherish the memories I made with him." she gave him a small smile.

Inuyasha can only nod a give a low rumble letting her know he appreciates her sharing something as intimate as her past with him. They ate their now lukewarm food in a surprising comfortable silence. That was exactly what Inuyasha was hoping for, he wanted her at ease around him. He thought for sure approaching her bedroom was taking a step too far and would only give him the opposite outcome. Once they were done Kagome collected their dishes and fed her cat a smaller amount of food, she heard Inuyasha turn on the T.V. to her surprise but remembered what Kaede told her.

_'Inuyokai are known to be clever.'_

Inuyasha must've figured out how to use the remote just by simply watching Kaede. Although, when he turned it on he clearly looked confused as to how the people can fit into such a flat contraption. She almost giggled when he went in for a closer look with a slight growl in his throat. She went over and further explained to him how the T.V. works as well as how the stove and microwave in the kitchen work. She left the living room to put on her uniform and leave for work, just then she remembered that Kaede will be visiting an old friend and her sisters grave. Which means...

"Inuyasha," she walked out in her uniform only to hear Inuyasha give a whimper mixed with a growl, "look, I HAVE to go to work it's something that women do in this age."

His whimper-growling continued, not really liking her answer she gave him.

"Kaede said you can leave to your cave whenever you want. How about you go into the forest to keep yourself entertained?"

His ears flattened to his skull. He liked the idea of stretching his limbs but doesn't like leaving his intended by herself for too long. After all, it's his obligation and duty to keep his future mate safe and happy. He heard the jingle of small metal chimes, looking over to the front he sees Kagome unlocking the front door ready to leave for work.

"To me, you don't look like the type to laze around and do nothing," she turned to him giving him a gentle smile, "I'll be back soon Inuyasha. Help yourself to anything in the refrigerator if you get hungry." With that she left his sight and locked the front door.

Using his speed he went into her bedroom and out through the forgotten broken window he used before. He climbed the tree that stood in front of her bedroom and used it to reach the rooftop of the building. Once he reached the top he watched her get close to a metal box with wheels, get inside the thing, and take off. As he watched her leave he couldn't deny the urge to go after her, his intended was going somewhere he doesn't know, a place out of his line of sight and hearing. He felt this itch build up inside him telling him to put on that black bandana he wore yesterday and chase after her.

_'I'll be back soon Inuyasha.'_

He can hear that promise very clearly in his mind. His instinct was telling him to be near her, not, that she's in danger. He went against his urge to follow after his intended and instead ran towards the forest he claimed as his domain. After all, when she comes back from this work she does he'll be able to pick up her scent. The unmistakeable aroma of lavender mixed with vanilla.

**-6 Hours Later-**

The bakery was packed! Orders left and right filled the stores order bulletin board to the point the board itself was lost amongst the quantity of sticky notes; and the walk-in customers were so rude! Kagome loves to cook and bake but at times she feels her job is taking the joy out of it, she would have quit a long time ago if it weren't for her co-worker and friend Rin. Rin is a year younger than Kagome and always has a sunny disposition, no matter what the day brings her she always has a smile on her face. Her personality made it easy for the two of them to become close friends and open up to one another about many topics. Rin even told Kagome about how a small group of wolves attacked her when she went to the zoo at a very young age; some idiot left the door slightly open. When Kagome asked what her parents are like, it was the first time she ever saw Rin frown.

_'Oh, my parents died a long time ago.'_

Since then Kagome never brought up the subject again. Despite what Rin went through her outlook on the world never wavers and it's because of her Kagome refuses to quit working at the bakery shop. That reminds her, Rin told her some starling news she heard on the radio on the way to work.

_'Kagome! Did you hear?' Rin rushes into the store and puts on her apron and ties her long dark chocolate hair up into ponytail.  
_

_'Hear what?' _

_Rin comes around the counter joining her friend while getting todays' orders. _

_'There was this emergency broadcasting they were announcing. Some junkie is going into houses wrecking up the place as he steals things and leaves.'_

_'What? Wait, they said it was one person doing all this?'_

_'Yeah, that's what they said. Whoever this person is just hit a house that's not too far from where you live, maybe you should go to your families shrine and stay there for a while.'_

_'It's okay Rin, the apartment complex I live in is practically empty given from all the deaths that happened in the forest near by.'_

_'I heard about that, the last case I remembered them reporting was about three bodies torn limb from limb. Two of the bodies had that happen to them but the third one was torn to pieces. Since that last incident, nothing.'_

_'I, uh, guess what ever did that left.'_

_'I guess, still spooky though.'_

Kagome parked her car and proceeded to her unit with a forgotten order of marble chocolate bunt cake with raspberry frosting tucked away into a box under her armpit. Usually a bunch of kids would flock to her as soon as she got home wanting a piece of anything she brought home from her job, but now their parents have them on lock down because of what Inuyasha did in the forest. She unlocked her door only to be welcomed with complete silence. She looked around and only found her cat fast asleep on the couch where she last saw her hanyo companion.

_'Huh, guess he must've went out for that run after all.'_

She put the cake into the frig next to her mothers box of sweets, changed into something comfortable, and turned on the news. She went back to the kitchen to fix up dinner for her and a possibly hungry Inuyasha as she listened to the news go on about traffic jams and some guy getting arrested for kidnapping. She took out some chicken breasts when she heard the news anchor say:

**_'And this just in, reports of local home invasions continue to__ increase.'_**

Turning her attention away from the chicken marinating in seasoning, Kagome quickly goes to her living room to watch.

_**'Home invasions in a local areas, usually places where it's safe to raise children, are being relentlessly targeted by, surprisingly, one man. A very odd occurrence for a once sleepy neighborhood where you can actually leave your children out with trusted neighbors now it's a place where hardly anyone trusts what the other says anymore. A quote from the police state: **'We suspect it's one person committing these crimes and we also believe whoever is doing this is on drugs.' **The police backed up this statement after finding a broken crack pipe in one of the homes recently broken into. Here on Channel 10 Live Action News we encourage you, our viewers at home, to keep yourselves safe and if you see any suspicious activity call 9-1-1 immediately.'**_

Turning away from the living room and kitchen Kagome made a quick dash to the front door and locked it with every lock on it. She then went to her sliding glass doors and locked those as well. In her hurry to keep her home safe from the intruder she have almost forgotten about the broken window in her bedroom and about Inuyasha. He doesn't know about what was said on T.V. and this worried her. Kagome knows he's more than capable of taking care of himself but at the pit of her stomach she can't help but worry over his safety.

"I need to let him know I'm here."

She's not sure how or why she knows, but she knows that if she gets to her bedroom window and call out for him he'll come back to the apartment. As soon as she opened her bedroom door a balled fist made contact to the very center of her stomach. The pain traveled through her body causing her to double over in pain as she cradled her stomach once she crumpled to the floor. She coughed and heaved for air as she spat up some fluids onto the floor. She heaved again and again for air as her attacker casually walked to her side and knelt down in a squatting position bringing his mouth to her ear giving it a ghost of a kiss.

"Hey Higurashi."

Her eyes widened. That voice.

"Hojo?"

Before she could look up she heard the sound of electricity echoing in small zap sounds.

"You remembered, how sweet."

After that Kagomes' body felt painful shock waves flow through her from the device he has. He wouldn't stop, he kept zapping her and zapping her making her whole apartment fill with her cries of agony. He zapped her sides, her neck, arms, stomach, and legs, the power of these zaps were so painful every place the device touched goes numb. Kagome felt her body go numb from the assault and saw her vision blacken.

_'Inuyasha.'_

* * *

**Okay! **

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	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! **

**Leave comments and reviews!**

* * *

**-A Gentle Embrace-**

_'What smells like chicken?'_

Kagome didn't know where she was, the only clues she could go by is the smell of chicken and the rough itchy feel of cheap carpet fabric brushing against her skin. She tried to move but the pit of her stomach ached painfully at her attempt, she tried to move her head but only got the same results from her neck. The sound of metal scrapping against a plate caught her attention, ignoring the shooting pains through her body she willed herself to turn over onto her back; making her ebony hair to spill over on each side of her head. She felt her hands tied behind her back with a bathrobe sash, come to think of it she remembered her arms and shoulders feeling a little constricted when she started coming too. She slightly opened her blue eyes and saw everything was fuzzy for a few seconds until her vision focused to make her surroundings more clearer to her.

She's still in her apartment, it's dark with only the street lamps and the moon as a source of light; but she's still there, lying in her living room with her hands tied behind her back. With her own bathrobe sash!

Kagome turned her head to her sliding glass doors and saw her reflection showing her how bad the situation was. Not only are her hands tied but her ankles are also tied up with an extension cord. Since she's wearing a bright blue tank top she also noticed the zap marks on her arms and neck. She didn't have any trouble remembering who did this to her. She looked away from her refection, her attention now on the junkie stuffing his face with the very chicken Kagome planned on making a nice dinner with.

_'What happened to him?'_

Hōjō was an old classmate of Kagomes' back in her high school days. She remembered him being very kind to her and always offering a willing hand to help at her temple; and he eventually became one of the many volunteers that came on the weekends. She remembered her friends; Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka telling her about Hōjō having a crush on her. In her high school years she wasn't looking for any relationships beyond friendships, at the time she focused more of her attention on her studies, her archery club, friends, and family. When her friends told her that Hōjō had an _'obvious crush' _on her she wouldn't notice it; or from any boy in that matter. Kagome remembers Hōjō always showing up at her house, the mall when she's shopping with her friends, being at one of her tutoring sessions, and even being conveniently there when she was done using the bathroom; no matter where she went she always ran into him. Then one day Eri came running to her and the rest of her friends with some startling news.

_'GUYS!'_

_Ayumi, Yuka, and Kagome stopped their conversation about a lecture they attended and gave Eri their undivided attention. _

_Ayumi: 'What is it Eri?'_

_Yuka: 'Yeah, you looked like you just ran a marathon.'_

_Eri pulled out a chair next to Kagome and sat there for a while catching her breath. _

_'It felt like I did but I needed to tell you guys what I just saw. Epically you Kagome.'  
_

_'What happened Eri?'_

_'You guys are not going to believe me but I saw Hōjō coming out of the girls locker room-.'_

_Ayumi: 'He's on the cleaning commette, they have access to all of the rooms in the school.'_

_'It's not the issue where he went it's what he was carrying in his hand that freaked me out.'_

_Yuka: 'What? Did he have a pair of girls underwear?'_

_Eri didn't say anything, her face gave it all away. _

_Kagome: 'Wait, he stole a pair of undies, Hōjō, the very Hōjō that likes helping people and has a straight A record every end of the semester?'_

_Eri could only nod as an answer, 'But it wasn't just some random pair of underwear, they were yours Kagome. I recognized them because you always wear the plain white ones specifically for gym; and I know you forgot to take them home so, they're not clean. But I saw him...sniffing them.' _

_Ayumi and Yuka gasped in unison as Kagome could only give her a shocked stare. _

Kagome always knew Hōjō to be a kind and caring person, for him to do this seemed very out of character for him. Then she put all of the pieces together, all the times she would just _'simply' _run into him in public was no mere coincidence. After their run-in's with each other he would later join her in whatever she was doing and he would always have a small camera resting in pants or hooded sweater pocket. Always taking pictures of her. At first she didn't see it as a problem assuming he's putting a scrape book together to reminisce on his teen years when he's older or when he would some day move away. Now she sees what he was really doing; stalking her with an innocent smile. **  
**

After a certain time he became more secluded and paranoid. His grades stayed the same but his appearance and behavior started to change. He became more jumpy at small sounds, he constantly asked people for money, his skin started to get chalky and his lips began to crack. When ever he came around her Kagome would feel uneasy, once he even grabbed her violently professing his love to her as he shook her; she had to punch him square in the eye just to get him to stop. Since then she was always accompanied by Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka. After the incident Kagome never saw Hōjō again, he dropped out before graduation.

Now, he's here in her home.

She continued to watch him eat the chicken she had left seasoning for dinner at the breakfast bar. She looked around the apartment and saw Buyo in a dark corner, hiding himself from any possible danger.

_'At least he's safe.' _

Kagome looked back at Hōjō and saw something strange; the chicken was dripping it's juices with the seasoning. He was eating that chicken strip raw. Kagome masked her disgusted expression as she calmly looked on at him eating his _'meal'_. He reached for his glass of water only to stop in mid-motion as soon as his blood shot eyes landed on Kagome. His cracked lips formed a smile breaking the skin on his lips from the motion. He dropped his food onto the plate letting it clatter as he moved from his spot. He quickly went over to her spot of the living room and simply sat next to her with a big smile on his face.

"Higurashi, glad to see you're awake. That chicken you prepared was great."

_'I have to throw out that plate and fork later.'_

"Why are you here Hōjō?"

His smiled disappeared and leaned in slightly so that she can see his bloodshot eyes more clearly.

"Why am I here? To see you of course Higurashi. You know I never stopped loving you after high school and all that I've done led up to this moment."

"By breaking into other peoples' houses and ruining their sense of peace?"

"I NEEDED things they had Kagome, for money!" He said that too cheerfully.

"But, stealing things wasn't enough. It wasn't enough." He looked out into the distance as he said those last words in a hush tone.

Then, he took her head and positioned her on his lap as he absently stroked her hair. Kagome stiffened her body, afraid of what Hōjō might have in mind. But when she looked up at his face she saw how dry it was. Small holes on his face were scabbed over making it clear to her he picked at his face, his skin dry and pale, the hand he stroked her with is bone with little to no muscle on his fingers, and she can see how long and greasy his hair has gotten. The boy she knew in high school that always had a smile on his face is gone.

"I started using when I met Suzaku."

Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"I met him one day after I was going home from school. I thought he was a girl at first, he had nice red styled hair and the prettiest pair of red lips I've ever seen. Anyone who looked at him at first glance would think he was a girl, did you know I was scared of him at first?"

She didn't answer; then again he continued anyway even if she did.

"He told me _'Oh, young samurai! There's no need to be afraid of me, I can show you a grand time if you just follow me'_, remember I had that _'I'll try anything once'_ attitude. Well, I followed him thinking where would be the harm of trying something new. He took me to a building where I met a lot of different people and in some of the rooms, they were filled with sex noises from orgies, I got scared again and Suzaku noticed this._ 'The samurai is not yet a man, but a simple little boy who is very curious,'_ I got hard Higurashi, and he noticed this and started to feel me up under my pants. I can still feel his touch, he had soft hands, he took my hands and led me to one of the rooms that was draped in red."

His hand stopped stroking her head but instead intertwined his fingers to her scalp and used her hair as puppet strings to left her up from his lap to bring her face close to his.

"I didn't know what was going to happen to me Higurashi, I thought he just wanted to take me away from the orgy that gave me a hard on and bring me to a room where I can cool down." he started to laugh sarcastically, "I was wrong, he said he want to _'fix' _my problem and started to undress me. I got scared again, this time I struggled with him, until one of your pictures fluttered out of my pocket. When he noticed it he observed you and told me there was someone in the building that looked like you. He left me for a little while and I was ready to leave once I got everything fixed, he then came back with your doppelganger."

He threw her back onto the floor and got up to sit on her couch.

_'Inuyasha's not going to like that.'_

INUYASHA! She almost forgot about him, if he gets back while Hōjō is still here he'll kill him without a second thought. Hōjō might be a junkie that zapped her until she was unconscious but she didn't want anyone to get killed in her apartment; actually, she doesn't want anyone to get killed or anyone to do the killing! She has to find a way to convince Hōjō to leave before Inuyasha gets here, she willed her body to sit up and face Hōjō as he continued to stare into space. At the corner of her eye she noticed Buyo running out of his hiding spot and making a dash to her room.

_'He'll be safer in my room.'_

"I had sex for the first time," she looked back over at Hōjō to see him have a sentimental smile on his face,"she didn't even mind if I called her _'Kagome'_ coincidentally HER name was also Suzaku. After we were done, the male Suzaku wanted to join us. It was the first time I had a threesome with a guy! After that he introduced me to what he like to call 'Pearl Dust', it was an amazing sensation to experience after sex Higurashi."

"So that's how your addiction started. Then why did you stalked me when Suzaku was your lover? You said she already looked like me."

"And she did! But she was 'saved' by a P.I. named Akitoki and I never saw her again. Besides, after she left the other Suzaku-"

"He, he did that to you? Hōjō, he controlled you with drugs, he got you so high that you would easily submit to what he asked for."

He laughed bitterly, then hysterically. Once he stopped he picked up the taser he used on her and stroked it lovingly as if it where the hand of a precious child.

"You honestly think I didn't know that Higurashi? I knew, I always knew. Even his formers told me I was his favorite, they said my face looked like pure innocence and that's what attracted him to me in the first place!"

He looked over at her and gave her body a once over.

"But I couldn't stop thinking about you Higurashi. No matter how many times he used my body," he got off the couch and kicked her left shoulder forcing her to fall to the floor hard. She gave a loud raspy scream from not only the impact of the kick but where the kick landed was on one of the places he zapped her. To make it worse he kept his foot on the shoulder he kicked to keep her on the floor. She withered and groaned in pain as he just twisted his heel into his shoulder. "I always thought of you, what it would be like to have those supple breasts of yours in my palms and my mouth what it would feel like to be inside you. And when I worked up the courage to confess to you, YOU PUNCHED ME IN THE EYE!"

He grind his heel into her shoulder making her scream.

"AAAAAAHHH! IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN FAIR TO YOU! IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN FAIR FOR YOU TO HAVE A GIRLFRIEND THAT DIDN'T FEEL THE SAME! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"I wouldn't have cared! So long as I had you and no one else would, I WOULDN'T HAVE CARED!"

He continued to grind his heel into her injured shoulder until he heard a low and dangerous feral growl coming from behind him. He stopped and straighten his back with a confused look on his face.

"The 'Pearl Dust' Hishama gave me must've been bad."

"Urrrgghhh, you're high right now?"

"The better question Higurashi, is when am I not high?"

The growl became more audible the longer Hōjō had his foot on Kagomes' shoulder. Her time is up, if she doesn't think of something now he'll get killed.

"Hōjō, I'm sorry...urgh...for punching you in high school...but you have to go and get help. Turn yourself in...aaaaggghh...the police have programs-"

"THE POLICE! They tried to put in their 'programs' to get me clean, I go along with it and put on a good act until I'm back out on the streets and get more 'Dust'."

He grind his heel back into her shoulder making her squirm in pain.

"Besides, I want to live out my fantasy of burying myself inside you."

He continued to grind his heel into her shoulder making her groan. Until...

"Arrrughgh!"

Kagome opened her eyes to see Inuyasha giving Hōjōs' neck a vicing death grip as his claws dug into the skin and muscle letting his blood trickle down the base of his fingers. His other hand forced his claws to penetrate into his stomach, his forefingers nestled deep beyond the skin, tissue, and fat as his claws started to tear at his muscles causing severe muscle trauma; making his stomach release a slow ooze of dark blood. The sight Kagome is bearing witness to is a terrifying one. Sitting up she got a better view of Inuyashas' face. The look on Inuyashas' face can scare even the hardest of killers, the look in his eyes makes it very clear he is set to kill Hōjō for what he has said and done and will feel no remorse or once of guilt for doing so!

But Kagome can't let him do that. He has killed plenty already and she will not have Hōjōs' death on her conscience nor will she see more blood on Inuyashas' hands!

Inuyasha gave a feral growl the second he felt the filth in his hands trying to pry himself free. This man reeked in more than one way and it was thanks to his foul stench he wasn't able to smell the fear and pain Kagome was giving off, if it wasn't for her fat cat emanating worry for his master and caretaker who knows what would've happened. Oh and the screams he forced her to make as he described his fantasy to her made his demon blood boil.

He will die for what he has done to his intended.

He buried his fingers even further into the little magets' stomach to the point he sheathed his knuckles into the stomach all the while hearing him scream in agony from the slow torture. His clawed fingers grabbed a hold of a good portion of the stomach muscle and readied to tear it wide open to let him see and cradle his innards as he dies from shock.

"Inuyasha."

His ear perked at the distress and sadness in his intendeds voice. Forgetting the worm wriggling in his arms he put all of his attention onto his intended fear stricken face. No. That's not what he wanted to see; it's the last thing he wanted to see.

"Please, please Inuyasha. Let him go, let this one go. I-" tears welled in her blue eyes. Refusing to spill over.

"I don't want to see you kill. I don't want you to kill, don't dirty your hands anymore with death so please! Please let him live!" her stubborn tears waned and flowed down her hot cheeks. She continued to stare at him making her message continue from the look she gave him; sadness and desperation. He did not want to be the cause of those tears he wants to be the reason she smiles. So, he took the maget in his arms and left Kagome in the living to do what she had pleaded to him to do.

Once Inuyasha left with Hōjō it gave her a chance to calm down. She managed to untie herself from her bathrobe sash and the extension cords, rubbing her ankles from the soreness they left she flicked the lights on and is slightly relieved to see her belongings are undamaged. Her body went into autopilot mode for a short while, throwing away the raw sliced chicken Hōjō had along with the plate and fork he used, finding his taser which she'll keep, cooking the chicken that's still good, eating her portion and leaving some for Inuyasha. She went to her room gathered her pajamas, showered, and waited for Inuyashas' return in her bedroom with a plate of food ready for him.

Kagome was on the edge of sleep when she heard the thuds of feet enter her bedroom. She sat up in her bed to see Inuyasha standing in her bedroom with Hōjōs' blood on his hands. He walked out of her room to wash up, when he was done he stood in her doorway not entirely sure if she truly wants him in her room. She saw his ears lower themselves and his face held uncertainty and concern.

"Inuyasha," she presented the plate to him,"aren't you hungry?" he took the invitation and home made food feeling his worries drift away from his mind. Once he finished he went to the kitchen and put it into the large tin tub called a sink, and proceeded to sleep on the floor. The couch reeks of the intruders stench. Before he could make his temporary accommodations he smelled the scent of jasmine and vanilla present in the room. He turned around to see Kagome standing there with a sullen face.

"I-I'm a little scared Inuyasha. I don't feel safe sleeping by myself-"

She was cut off as she felt herself being carried bridal style back to her bedroom. She saw Inuyasha kick her door closed, turning off her lights, and getting them under the covers without letting go of her. She felt him give off his low rumble mixed purr from his chest and pulled her close to him wrapping his arms around her in a protective manner. She felt one of his hands expose the shoulder Hōjō was abusing and hissed at the sight of a developing bruise. She can feel his tongue softly trace over the abused flesh as his lips feathered onto it again giving it light kisses. The sensation from before came back as he did this she brought him closer to fulfill the need of his touch that grew inside of her. She felt him withdraw once he was satisfied with his work. The rumble mixed purr came back into his chest as he once again brought Kagome closer to him and re-wrapping his arms protectively around her form. His rumble, his arms wrapped around her, and his very being made her feel instantly safe. She snuggled more into his chest and crooned her head under his chin making his soothing sound more perceptible to her ears.

"Thank you Inuyasha," one hand rested around her shoulders, as the other remained around her waist,"for protecting me and for sparing Hōjō. Thank you."

Inuyasha felt her body relax as todays' events exhausted his poor intended to the brink.

_'sparing Hōjō.' _so that's his name. If only she knew, he didn't want to live. He rested his cheek on the top of her head as he recalls what Hōjō asked of him.

_'You can kill me right? Can you? I'm already dead in this world, so, end it for me will ya?'_

He can never deny his intended mate but he can never deny a mercy kill.

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! **

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* * *

**-Blissful ****Nothing**-

_*BIZZZT BIZZZZT! BIZZZZT BIZZZZT! BIZZZCRISHCKSH!*_

Kagome woke up immanently to see her alarm clock crushed and thrown towards the very end of her room and crash against her wall. Making the already broken clock shatter into plastic bits. Her instinct told her to get up and clean up the mess but a strong arm wrapped around her waist pulled her back under her mattresses covers. Her body, though forced, felt the familiar protective warmth of her bunk mate. His arms brought her closer to his chest as they wrapped around her waist and shoulders in a protective manner. His lips gave her a ghost of a kiss on the crown her head until his cheek once again rested itself back into place. His purr rumbled softly in his chest in an attempt to soothe Kagome back into slumber, and remain in his arms.

For Kagome, there would be no other place she felt safer than here in her bed in Inuyasha's arms. The night she spent in his arms was the best sleep she has ever experienced. She didn't feel afraid, she felt protected; she didn't feel lonely, she felt cared for. During the night she recalled having a nightmare, in this nightmare she saw Inuyasha chained by his arms and legs as his constraints were bolted to the ground in a pitch black room with only a light from no where beaming down on his slumped form, in this horrible dream she was wearing a simple white dress as he wore bloodied rags. She noticed the chains dug into his wrists cutting into the skin making his wrists drip blood and trickle down the chains.

He's been beaten as well, one of his ears was clipped and a noticeable cut can be seen through his bloodied hole ridden shirt. She couldn't stand the sight, she couldn't take the idea of seeing him in this kind condition!

She ran to him.

She heard her feet padding on the floor making it the only sound in this damn room. But something was wrong, she wasn't getting anywhere near him! The more she ran, the longer he seemed to be distanced from her reach. She picked up her pace and was finally able to get close to him. When she came close enough to finally reach him, a figure wearing a blue baboon mask and a mangy looking white cloak came out of the darkness. She felt herself running in place again, the figure stood calmly in it's place behind Inuyasha and watched her struggle. Kagome looked on horrified that she couldn't get near Inuyasha again, but not as horrified as what she was about to see. As she ran, the figure took out a hidden sword tucked away in it's cloak, it slowly took out the long blade as it rung from the vibration of being unsheathed. Kagome remembers trying to scream out to Inuyasha to get his attention and warn him about the danger behind him. But, her voice would not come out, all the came out of her mouth in this nightmare was a stifle throaty noise. Then she felt her feet halt in place, she looked down and saw her feet melt into the ground. She felt no pain but she felt the rise of panic coarse through her body. She looked up and sees he figure used the blade to play with Inuyasha's hair. As she sank into the ground she is forced to witness what the figure was about to do next. Still giving out strangled noises, she watched the hateful figure plunge the blade through Inuyasha's back and pierce his chest.

Making Inuyasha's eyes widen in shock but making Kagome finally scream in dread.

She woke up in a cold sweat that night.

She remembers Inuyasha's concerned face as he gave a whine from not knowing what happened to her. But all she did was cling to him as she concentrated all her energy to not let tears fall from her blue eyes.

She believed her nightmare was caused by the stressful side effect as to what happened with Hōjō. But when she saw that sword plunged into Inuyasha's back only to come out through his heart, she felt her own heart break.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha's sleeping face, relieved that what she experienced was only a nightmare. But wondered about her own intuition when it comes to him and to her own heart. Seeing him die in that nightmare broke her, it was the same sensation she experienced when she found out her father died.

Agony, pain, sorrow, and the lost of someone she now considers dear to her heart. It's a fact that she's known Inuyasha for only five days, but his very presences eases her more than frightens her. And she doesn't view him as a monster like before. Now, he's her dearest friend and protector and she can't imagine, or stand the very notion, of him getting hurt or having him stain his hands with more blood. She brought one of her hands and lightly rubbed one of his triangular ears. It twitched slightly but stopped when the message was being given, his purr became more audible from the delightful sensation. As his head leaned back into the touch, Kagome's muscles twitched in pain from the areas Hōjō abused. Her grunt awoken Inuyasha from his bliss.

He looked at his intends face to see her discomfort. He only attended to bruises he was able to see but he didn't get around to healing the rest of her abused flesh. He doesn't want to see her in any kind of discomfort or pain. He removed himself from her form and pulled her legs to the edge of the bed as gently as he can. He started with the bottom of her night shirt, he brought it up slightly to see a purplish bruise. He hissed at the sight making Kagome to fidget a little. He moved to her sleeves and saw the same thing on both of her forearms. Next, are her legs, he noticed her stiffness came from there mostly. He proceeded to pull her pants down when her hands quickly attached themselves to the waist belt. He looked up and noticed a blush stretched across her face from embarrassment.

Kagome heard a low rumble coming from his throat and the expression he's giving her. The look of trust and assurance masked his face. Despite her embarrassment she knows Inuyasha **has** to do this. It's like what Kaede told her.

_'It's simply a mate matter.'_

If Inuyasha doesn't do this then he will believe that he is not taking care of her properly. On that fact, Kagome reluctantly let go of the waist band of her pants and gave him the nod of approval to proceed. Inuyasha rubbed her knees for comfort her and began at her forearms. Kagome looked on as Inuyasha made quick work of her arms. She watch him bring his hands to her shoulders as he eased her on her back causing her sore stomach muscles to stretch out . She hissed at the pain but can feel it replaced by a soothing sensation. She looked up to see Inuyasha messaging the sides of her waist as he worked on her stomach. His long tongue traced over the bruise carefully as well as giving it light kisses. He heard Kagome give off a small moan mixed giggle.

Why did she giggle? As he ignored his confusion and continued his work her giggle came back. He looked up slightly from her stomach and watched her lean into his touch as he still messaged the side of her waist. She moaned softly from the message as she arched her back slightly. Since the message isn't the cause of her giggling he went back to finish his work on her stomach. Before he could finish his work he dipped his tongue into her belly button she giggled again. She brushed his bangs and tugged slightly at them, telling him who the culprit is.

He kissed her knuckle and pulled her pants down passed her knees and calves. He noticed the only bruise she has on her leg is a big purple blob shaped one on her inner right thigh. The very sight angered him. He spread her legs apart and started working on the blob marring her tender skin. As he licked the outer ring of the bruise the soft sounds of her moans can be heard once again. He lifted the leg he worked on over his shoulder to get better access as his other hand rested on her opposite leg giving it small circular message. Her moans became more pitched from the ministrations he's giving her. Her back arched slightly from her bed; every time Inuyasha gives her this kind of attention all of her senses escapes her mind. All she can think about is him! The way he touches her, how his mouth feels, the trail of wet kisses his tongue leaves in their trek, and the sensation of his hot breath against her skin; when she undergoes all of these wonderful sensations that he gives her something inside of her awakens.

Kagome can't explain what it is, but what she does know is that she wants more of it; more of him. And this isn't the first time she has silently expressed this, need for him. She's grown to care for her hanyo companion this much she knows, but when he caresses her so sweetly like this it drives to the brink of desire that she never thought she was capable of wanting.

_'It's simply a mate matter.'_

A 'mate matter', these desires for Inuyasha that she's experiencing, is it because that she is truly his one and only mate? Or is it due that she's a starved virgin that is finally getting her fix of male contact? It can't be the second choice. When she looks at his crimson-golden eyes she knows that he will protect her and care for her; and take care of her in anyway.

She felt his tongue lap over a very sensitive spot on her inner thigh and couldn't suppress the moan that came out of her mouth; he found a spot she didn't know existed.

He smells it. Her arousal has spiked to a point that he can smell her scent. That euphoric aroma is causing his instincts to bubble up. Every fibber of his being is demanding him to take the young woman and mark her as his. Unfortunately when it comes to a matter like this he can't take something that's not his to receive. He gave a low growl in frustration, there is nothing more than he would love to do then take her when her arousal is high. Although, that wouldn't be fair to his intended. He will be satisfied for the moment, but he will be at risk of being hated by her.

And that's something he can't live with. He is in love with his intended, but he must wait for her.

Inuyasha gave one last kiss to the bruised inner thigh making the bruise disappear. He crawled up to a red faced panting Kagome and stared at her; allowing his hair to fall past his shoulders making a curtain around the two. She opened one of her blues eyes and stared back at him smiling sweetly at him. Kagome reached up to rub one of his soft ears. She admired the softness of the fur as she listened to him purr at her message. Inuyasha looked back down at her, and the look he gave her made knots in her stomach.

She's never seen such tenderness in a man's face before.

He took her rubbing ear hand and kissed her wrist before lowering himself inches away from her face. Kagome's hands placed themselves behind his neck and lightly touched his chin. While his are placed on the back of her neck and on the side of her exposed waist. The two stared at each other, just gazing into the others eyes. Looking for answers they know the other holds.

He needed to see her willingness to be his and saw compassion and kindness.

She needed to find what she truly felt for him when she gazes at him and sees passion and...love?

Kagome sees love in his eyes.

And she knows that the love he holds is meant for her and for her alone. After seeing this, from him she now believes she's going to find the answer she's been asking herself.

Can she love him and will she be able too?

Inuyasha inched his face closer to hers and noticed that she didn't resist him in anyway. Feeling encouraged from the absence of rejection he went in to close the gap between them when.

_*GRUGUGGLHGHRLHLGRLHLGHOGHLOU*!_

Inuyasha looked down her body and heard her stomach growl.

Kagome couldn't help but laugh at the sound of her stomach ruining the mood the two have set for one another. And she laughed even harder when Inuyasha growled at her stomach, plopped himself on top of her, and continued to growl from behind the side of her neck. Frustrated that the need for food has ruined the moment between them, the only consolation he can have solace in is that he got to hear her laughing instead of screaming. He pushed himself off of her still giggling form and went out into the living room to wait for her. Kagome eventually collected herself, and her pants, and for once is very glad to be home from work and have nothing bad happen.

She heard the meow of her fat cat and made her way to her bedroom door. Before she walked out into the hallway to get to the kitchen she looked over at the alarm clock Inuyasha destroyed. If it wasn't for that, she wouldn't have enjoyed the time she spent with him.

Or have found the solution to her tangled stream of thoughts and feelings she has and holds for her beloved hanyo.

* * *

**Wooo!**

**Leave comments and reviews please!**


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